Switch-stand lock



Dec. 17, 1929. L. vR. sHAFFER SWITCH STAND LOCK Patented Dec. 17, 1929'LARKIN n. fstralen"En, or GARLAND, .UTAH

SWITCH-'STAND Lock applicati@ flied oct'ber 5, 192e. serial No.y'139,677.'

This invention relates to improvements in switch stand locks 'andparticularly to a lock for 'a stand-of wl'iat is known asa groundAthrovvT switch, this type of stand being 'com- 5 paratively lo'wstructure .adapted for use in yards where high switch stands can not beused. The switch stand of the present 'type is illustrated in 'my priorPatent No. 1,565,- 679, 'dated December 15, 1925. v

Generally "stated, the primary 'object of the present invention is toprovide a switch stand which. will not suffer damagein 'the 'event thatthe switch lever is in locked position while the/switchpointsarenotproperly lined up. More specifically, in stands of the present type, theswitch lever is held down by a pivoted arm or latch, Aand when a trainor one or more cars runs through a switch whose pointsare not properlylined up, it frequently happens that the 'arm which is supposed to holdthe switch lever down will take all of the lstrain caused by themovement of the improperly positioned switch point, and as `a resulteither the switch stand will be twisted, the latch arm will bel'sprun'g, or other portions vof the mechanism willnb'e so affected thatthe switch points will remain open to suoli an extent when the lever isin its normal switch closing position that a train subsequently headingin on the switch will be derailed. To 'overcome this likelihood ofinjuring the vswitch stand or other parts, and' rendering a train liableto der'ailinena the present invention provides means for permitting theswitch lever to move indepenedntly of its latch 'arm in the event atrain passes overa switch whose point-s are not properly lined up. Inthe preferred embodiment of the invention, this re- 's'ultisaccomplished by having the lever latching arm, which is pivoted, in theswitch 'stand casing, formed with a somewhat weakened free end portionadapted to engage the switch lever, whereby when there is a tendency ofthe improperly alined switch points to move the switch lever, the latterwill break olf the weakened end portion of its latching arm, and be freeto move to any eXtent necessary to compensate for movement of theimproperly alined switch oints.

Y' b' A further o ject of the invent-ion is to provide a switch standcasing which ymay be permanently attached. to a solid base while stillpermitting the lever lat-ching arm to be inserted therein or removedtherefrom in the event `the lever latching arms become broken as beforeoutlined, and it is necessary to install a new lever latching arm,

`With these and other objects infview, the

invent-ion consists in pertain; novely details of construction, and'combinationsA and arrangements `of parts, all as will hereinafter bemore fully described and the novel features thereof particularly pointedout in the appended claims. j t In the accompanying drawings: y j Figure1 is a vertical sectional View taken through the switch stand casing,land Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 Vof Figure l. VPracticallythe Aentire vswitch stand is constructed substantially theSame as in my prior patent above referred to, and a detailed descriptionis not believed to be necessary.

Suflice it to say the switch lever 10 is received in a verticallydisposed slot 11 in the Acasing 12, so that it rests quite close to ltheground when in its normal locked position. Ala-tch 13 is adapted tooverli'e ltheswitch lever, and lock it in the positionshown, under whichcircumstances the switch'points of the lswitch controlled by the leverare supposed yto be properly lined up. Preferably, latch 13 consists ofa wheel ournaled with pin 121 in the casing, this wheel having aplurality of arms, one of which overlies the switch lever. A second armof said wheel is' held by an abut'- ment 15, so as to prevent the latchwheel rotating and releasing the lever l0. Abutnient 15 is preferably across bar carried near the inner extremity of an operating handle 16whose other extremity is outsidecasingrlO, where the operators foot canbe placed upon it to depress thens'ame and lift abutment 15 out of thepath ofthe latch arln `whichi't' nor` mally engages. `In igure 1th'eparts are shown in lockedposit-ionnin full lin'e'lsQand in unlockedposi-tion in dotted lines'.l When unlocked, ywheel v13 is f ree to'rotate'. on fitspivfot and 'will d so' as leverxlloni'sraised tfo'throw the-switch, This-movement f the lever i0 and the latch 13 willbring the lowermost arm indicated at 17 into position across slot 11, sothat as the switch lever is restored to its normal lower position, thewheel 13 willbe moved reversely and restored to its original position.YVhile the cross bar or abutment 15 could be relied upon to hold thelatch 13 against rotation, it is preferred that a ring 18 be carried onsaid abutment and positioned to engage the latch wheel. This arrangementwill appreciably reduce the shocks that would otherwise be placed on thestructure.

As before mentioned, if the parts were in their normal locked positionas shown in full lines in Figure 1, and the points of the switchcontrolled by the lever 10 were not properly lined up, upon passage of atrain over the switch, there will be a tendency of the lever 10 to risein the slot 11, and this movement of the lever naturally will result ina strain being placed on some 'portion of the device. The presentinvention, however, eliminates any damage being done under suchcircumstances by having the several arms of the latch wheel 13 formednear their free outer ends with lines of weakness 19 of such formationthat while the extremities of the latch arms are of sullicient strengthto maintain the lever locked when under normal conditions, nevertheless,if the lever 10 should be Caused to be moved upwardly by reason ot theswitch points not being properly lined up, the weakened end portions ofthe arm engaging lever 10 will be broken orf, thereby permitting thelever l0 to rise as far as necessary. By thus permitting the leverl 10to rise in the slot, the switch points will be left open and the engineor cars of the train can pass through Without doing any other damage.After the extrem ity of one latch arm has been broken, the wheel can begiven a one-fourth revolution so that a new point is positioned toengage the switch lever. From the foregoing it will be readily seen thatunder normal conditions the switch lever can be locked against movement,but under abnormal conditions, such as the points of the switch notbeing properly lined up, the switch lever is capable of movingindependently of its latching arm moving about its pivotal center, andindependently of any movement 'ot the abutment which holds the latch armin engagement with the switch lever. As before noted, when a switch hasbeen split, the arm of the latch wheel which holds the lever 10 downwill break oli' and will. allow said lever to go free and not standcocked and said lever will also drop back in place, thereby reducing thenumber of derailments. Of course, it is not necessary that each of thearms of the latch wheel be formed with weakened end portions. Only twoof them need be so formed, but in such a case care will have to be takenin mounting it in the casing.

In view of the fact that the present invention contemplates renewing thelatch wheels 13 each time two of its arms have been broken, means arealso provided in the present instance for facilitating the removal of abroken wheel and the insertion of a new one without the necessity ofdisturbing the switch stand or removing any of the securing elements bywhich the casing is mounted in place. Such means for facilitating thisrenewal of the latch wheel consists in having the sides of the casing 12formed with rather enlarged opening 20 throughwhich either a new orbroken latch wheel may be passed. These openings in the casing arelocated beneath normal position of the latch wheel so that by removingthe cross pin 14 on which said wheel is ournaled, said wheel is free tofall to the bottom of the casing where it may be then removed. A newwheel can then be inserted through the opening 2O and with very littlemanipula-tion positioned upwardly within the casing so that the crosspin 14 may again be restored. As shown in Figure 2, the cross pin 14 isheld in place in the casing by an ordinary cotter pin. By thus providing:tor the renewal of the breakable latch wheels, considerable time, laborand material is saved.

I claim 1. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switchlever, a pivoted latching arm having a weakened free endv portionadapted to engage said switch lever, and means for releasably lockingsaid latching arm in engagement with said lever.

2. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a. switch lever,a latch comprising a plurality of integral arms journaled within thecasing, one of said arms being adapted to engage the lever, and meansengaging another of said arms to hold the latch in lever lockingposition within the casing, said casing having an unobstructed openingthrough which the integral latch arms. may .be inserted or removed. y

3. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switch lever,a latch comprising a. plurality of integral arms journaled within thecasing, one of said arms being adapted to engage the lever, and meansengaging another of said armste hold the latch in lever locking positionwithin the casing, said casing having an unobstructed opening in theside thereof below the point atwhich said latch arms are journaled, saidintegral latch arms being insertable in and removable from the casingthrough said opening.

LARKIN R. sHAFrEa

